TV host Mike Rowe is known as a blue-collar guy who champions vocational education and avoids politics. But lately that has gotten more difficult, especially as he fields questions from fans. As the controversy surrounding protests over the national anthem consume all sports and media coverage, Rowe took on the issue Sunday in response to a fan query, and he spared no one.

The question, asked by a fan named Robert, was, “I know you avoid politics, (thanks!) and I remember your rant on the Colt’s leaving Baltimore. (As a former Brown’s fan, I feel your pain.) But I gotta ask – what’s happening to professional football, and what do you make of Trump’s comments about those who refuse to stand during the national anthem?”

Rowe’s response started off philosophically. “In democracies, we the people get the government we deserve,” he wrote. “We also get the celebrities we deserve, the artists we deserve, and the athletes we deserve. Because ultimately, we the people get to decide who and what gets our attention, and who and what does not.”

He continues by laying out the issue at hand. “Right now,” Rowe says, “The NFL, the players who choose to kneel, the networks who choose to broadcast their protest, the advertisers who sponsor the games, and the President of the United States, are all eager for our attention. And they are all using football to get it. That’s all well and good, right up to the point where it isn’t. In my view, this controversy really isn’t about patriotism, social justice, racial inequality, or free speech. It’s not even about the flag or the national anthem. It’s really only about one thing – what we will tolerate, and what we won’t.”